Spindle router update:

I got the spindle router finished (for now) and have used it quite a bit over the past couple of years so I thought I might be useful to give an update.

Overall, I consider it a success. It’s easy to set up, quiet, plenty powerful, accurate and rigid, dust collection is good and it only took a few hundred hours to finish…

Apart from the wiring and finishing off the table I got hung up on the electronics and software. I got it all working pretty well but I wanted to test the repeatability of the spindle drive. When I drove the spindle up then returned to the same place it was always out by 0.006 mm. OK – pretty insignificant, but why? Turns out, it would take, say, five steps up (each step of the stepper motor equates to 0.006 mm of movement), and when I reversed direction, it would take one more step up and then four down. Three days of googling and testing and I worked out that the stepper motor driver I was using had a slow opto-coupler in the direction input. I changed the driver out and all was fine. I’m mentioning this to point out how much time can be wasted by small problems like this when an amateur takes on a project over his head!

Some comments:
The 0.1 mm resolution of the height adjustment sounds very fine for woodworking, but I find that it’s about right – especially for adjusting small round over bits.

The VFD has a relay output when the spindle is turning. This drives red LEDs on the clear insert plate so I can see if the bit is going to bite me.

The $2.80 custom circuit board I got made in China is so cool and looks so much better than the proto board I was using with it’s rats nest of wires.

The blast gate is operated with a lawn mower choke cable from over the table.

The fence is simple – two clamps either end on a T track but works well. I still have to figure out a mitre fence.

I use green automotive antifreeze for the spindle cooling so it doesn’t go bad and also because I can see it flowing in clear tube. I would like to get a spinny flow indicator so I can easily check flow.

I 3D printed a fold out panel for the display and a recessed panel for the remote VFD display.

The wiring is a bit of a mess and I probably should tidy it up but if it ain't broke...

After a few months of operation I pulled the spindle out and found quite a lot of dust inside the linear rail enclosure so I added another sliding cover on the front and also put a 25 mm hole in the back which vents outside the main cabinet. This allows clean air to be drawn into the linear rail enclosure and keeps it at a higher pressure than the negative pressure from the dust extraction (in theory).

The four line LCD display is clunky and hard to read and I may upgrade it, but it works for now. The four basic functions of the spindle drive software are:
- Zero at current position
- Move up or down in increments of 0.1 mm to a set position dialled in on the rotary dial
- Move until the tool contacts a ‘touch pad’ which is a steel ruler.
- Move tool all the way up to change the tool.
The spindle can also be jogged up and down with the toggle switch at any time.

Leigh
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